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New England owner wants Patriots to keep Malcolm Butler

Updated on March 27, 2017 at 9:59 PMPosted on March 27, 2017 at 9:57 PM

Patriots Steelers Football

New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepts a pass in the end zone intended for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown during an NFL game in Pittsburgh on Oct. 23, 2016.
(AP Photo)

So Kraft would hate to see Butler leave New England, and despite two waves of rampant speculation this month that the Patriots were shipping the cornerback to the New Orleans Saints, the Patriots owner said the team doesn't intend to trade Butler.

"We have an offer sheet out to him," Kraft said on Monday at the NFL's annual meeting, "and I know he has the ability to go out in the market and get someone to sign him. I hope he's with us and signs his offer sheet and plays for us. I have a great affection for him. He was part of probably the greatest play in the history of our team."

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Butler heads toward his fourth NFL season as a restricted free agent, and the Patriots put a first-round tender on him. With that designation comes a $3.91 million salary for the 2017 season if Butler re-signs.

Butler could solicit a better offer from another team, but the Patriots would get a chance to match that. If they did, Butler would have to stay with New England on the matching deal.

If the Patriots failed to match the other team's offer, Butler would be free to sign the bigger contract. But the team signing Butler would have to give New England its first-round draft choice for the right to do so. That puts something of a chilling effect on the market for Butler.

Butler visited the Saints, but there's been no announcement of a contract offer. New Orleans holds the 11th choice in the 2017 NFL Draft.

If Butler signs his offer sheet with the Patriots, he'll become a free agent after the 2017 season.

After making the Super Bowl-saving play to cap the 2014 season, Butler earned a Pro Bowl invitation in 2015 and was a second-team All-Pro pick in 2016, when the Patriots won the Super Bowl again.

There was plenty of speculation that New England would try to lock up Butler with a long-term contract while he was still under the team's control. Instead, the Patriots signed free-agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore from the Buffalo Bills to a five-year, $65 million contract earlier this month, seeming to diminish their ability to offer Butler a big deal, too.

Because Logan Ryan left the Patriots to sign as a free agent with the Tennessee Titans, New England needs Butler even with the addition of Gilmore. Ryan started opposite Butler in the Patriots' secondary last season.

Another reason for Kraft to like Butler: He's been a bargain, saving a Super Bowl and producing two seasons of all-star play for a total of $1.53 million over three years from the Patriots.

Butler's salary has been augmented by the performance-based pay and veteran performance-based compensation programs, which is money provided by the NFL and NFLPA for players whose contracts don't measure up the amount of time they're on the field.

Playing for a third-year salary of $600,000 on a contract signed as an undrafted free agent, Butler was on the field for all but 3.4 percent of New England's defensive snaps in 2016. From the two programs, Butler received a combined bonus of $368,882.72, the 15th biggest in the NFL.

Butler also picked up $183,000 in postseason bonuses as the Patriots marched to the NFL championship last season.